The present invention is directed to an automatic pet feeder and, in particular, to an automatic pet feeder of the type which is disclosed in my patent application Ser. No. 08/204,945; filed on Mar. 2, 1994; and entitled "Automatic Pet Feeder", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,892; for which the issue fee has been paid and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety (hereinafter the application Ser. No. 08/204,945, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,892). The automatic pet feeder of the present invention can be used either indoors or outdoors for dogs, cats and other pets and is reliable, convenient to use, hygienic, economical and easy to assemble or disassemble for cleaning, storage, packaging and/or transport.
The automatic pet feeder of the present invention is designed to dispense the dry, pelletized pet food that is commonly available to pet owners at pet and grocery stores throughout the country. Preferably, the capacity of the food reservoir of the automatic pet feeder can be varied by adding or removing sections of the reservoir. Thus, the food reservoir of the automatic pet feeder can hold enough food for several days, a week or if desired, even longer. Of course, if a pet owner is planning to be absent for more than a day, a neighbor, friend or relative should be asked to periodically check on the pet to be sure that the pet's food supply and other needs are being met. The automatic pet feeder provides a reliable, convenient means to assure that a pet will have food during temporary absences by the pet owner.
Both the food replenishing port and the feeding port of the automatic pet feeder are sealed thereby sealing the food reservoir of automatic pet feeder. Since the automatic pet feeder of the present invention is sealed, the automatic pet feeder is hygienic and protects the pelletized pet food from contamination and/or moisture due to rain, snow, mice, birds, ants, other insects and dust. This enables pet food to be held within the automatic pet feeder for extended periods of time without fear that the pet food will become unsuitable for consumption by a pet.
The feeding port is located adjacent a lower end of the food reservoir and the bottom wall of the food reservoir is inclined toward the feeding port to cause additional pelletized food within the food reservoir to flow into the feeding port as the food in the feeding port is consumed by a pet. At least a portion of and, preferably, the entire food reservoir and feeding port of the automatic pet feeder of the present invention are transparent so that the level and remaining quantity of food in the food reservoir and the availability of food in the feeding port can be easily determined, even at a distance, by directly viewing the amount of pet food remaining in the automatic pet feeder. Thus, when a pet is housed in a pen or kennel, the amount of food available for the pet can be determined from outside the pen. This adds to the convenience of using the automatic pet feeder, which is especially important when a neighbor, friend or relative has been asked to look after the pet(s).
Like the automatic pet feeder of the application Ser. No. 08/204,945 U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,892 (FIGS. 4A-4D), the automatic pet feeder of the present invention is designed to be suspended within a pen and can be readily removed from a pen to be replenished with food without the need for anyone to enter the pen. This feature, in combination with the use of a transparent food reservoir, makes the automatic pet feeder of the present invention easy and convenient to use, especially, when the pet owner is concerned that someone entering the pen might accidently release the pet from the pen; when the pet is not accustomed to being handled by strangers; or the pet is a guard dog or otherwise unfriendly to strangers.
By suspending the automatic pet feeder, the height of the automatic pet feeder above the ground or floor (hereinafter "ground") can be adjusted to accommodate the size of the pet feeding from the automatic pet feeder. For larger pets, the automatic pet feeder can be raised. For smaller pets, the automatic pet feeder can be lowered. In addition, when a more controlled feeding of the pet is desired, the pet owner can easily raise the automatic pet feeder to a height where the automatic pet feeder is not available to the pet. This can be performed manually or through the use of a timer and an automatic winch or a winch operated by a remote control. A synchronized sounding, calling or announcing device may also be incorporated to announce that dinner has been seved.
As with the automatic pet feeder of the application Ser. No. 08/204,945, the automatic pet feeder of the present invention is designed to be either non-rotatably or rotatably suspended off the ground. When suspended in the non-rotatable mode, the automatic pet feeder is in a relatively stable, stationary position. When suspended in the rotatable mode, the automatic pet feeder rotates as the pet feeds and the pet must move with the feeding port of the automatic pet feeder to continue eating. This gives the pet a chance to play while the pet is feeding and can also discourage overeating by certain pets as the pet will have to move with the feeding port as the feeding port rotates.
In addition to being designed for suspension from a ceiling, joist, beam, tree limb, door frame or some other horizontally extending member located some distance off the ground, the automatic pet feeder of the present invention can also be mounted on a support stand and placed on the ground for feeding. The automatic pet feeder does not rotate in the support stand, but the ability of the automatic pet feeder to be mounted on a support stand increases the versatility of the pet feeder and enables the pet feeder to be used in locations where the pet feeder can not be suspended. The support stand also permits the use of a supplemental cup on the automatic pet feeder.
The automatic pet feeder of the present invention can be made from plastics, fiberglass reinforced plastics, or other similar inexpensive and durable materials. Accordingly, the automatic pet feeder of the present invention is inexpensive, durable and easy to clean. The automatic pet feeder has very few moving parts which minimizes any chance that the automatic pet feeder might malfunction. In addition, due to the design of the automatic pet feeder, the components of the automatic pet feeder are easy to fabricate and the automatic pet feeder can be easily assembled or disassembled within minutes without the use of tools. Thus, the automatic pet feeder of the present invention is easy to clean, assemble, disassemble, store, package and transport.